That depends on the white paper's length, the technical complexity of its subject matter, and the time required to develop the design and illustrations. A short four-page white paper with simple illustrations may cost as little as $2,000.

Costs increase for longer white papers, technical content that is challenging to explain to readers, and elaborate illustrations. A highly technical white paper that does "heavy lifting" in the sales process may cost $10,000 or more. Those white papers often achieve dramatic results.

Do you charge a fixed price or bill for time and materials?

That is your choice. Many clients prefer a fixed price.

On fixed price projects, how do you handle unanticipated additional review cycles and changes to the scope?

We encourage clients to review our white papers thoroughly. Our analysis, organization, and content work often shows clients new ways to present ideas. Exciting new ideas may attract the interest of technical gurus and senior management. That interest may result in unanticipated review cycles. Our earnings per hour may decrease, but our client's satisfaction increases. Satisfied clients give us repeat business.

Most successful projects undergo a metamorphosis of some sort between start and finish. That is the nature of creativity in any field. We account for that metamorphosis in our fixed price.

Major changes in the scope of the project as documented in the contract may result in an additional charge.

Do you charge for the time required to prepare a bid?

No. Our bids are free. We enjoy talking with prospective clients about their projects.

How do you work with clients?

We take care of the entire white paper development process. Clients interact with us through:

Their white paper project manager; we coordinate schedules, resources, and deliverables through this person

Subject matter experts; we interview them as we gather information and develop content

Reviewers; they comment on the draft white paper and approve the final version

What is your process?

We use a development process with nine phases:

Assess needs

Plan

Acquire information

Organize content

Design the look & feel

Write

Illustrate

Review, revise & approve

Publish

To prepare a bid, we assess needs: we discuss the goals, audience, and subject matter of the proposed white paper with the prospective client, and we examine preliminary strategies to achieve the goals. We also plan: we discuss resources, schedules, and costs.

After the project starts, we build on the first two phases, and then we continue through the remaining seven phases. We review the output of each phase with the client. For detailed information about our white paper development process, consult our free White Paper Writing Guide.

Do you refund a portion of the price if a client is dissatisfied with a white paper?

No. We make sure our clients are satisfied! If we are not a good match for your project, we will refer you to another white paper service provider.

We don't write low-tech or "no-tech" white papers. We work exclusively in the high-tech arena where technical communication skill is a big advantage. Some clients ask us to write about their advanced technologies in such detail that anyone who receives the white paper must sign a non-disclosure agreement.

If you need a white paper on a high-tech subject, we have the skills and experience to get the results you want!